Ten TUF Questions: Gerald Harris on episode No. 7

Team Rampage suffered another loss this past Wednesday when Gerald Harris suffered a second-round TKO to Amir Sadollah in the episode’s first fight.

Harris was painted to be the favorite, but as he said, Sadollah was no push-over, despite the lack of a professional record.

MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) caught up up with Harris to discuss the fight, the controversy over the stoppage, why the loss was so emotional, and everything else related to his time on the show.

Find out what he had to say about coach Quinton Jackson, the comparison some people made between him and the champ, and where life is now taking him as he prepares for his next MMA fight.

MMAJUNKIE.COM: To begin with, how did you end up on the show? Were you recruited or recommended, or did you go through the traditional application process?

GERALD HARRIS: It was in August 2007 and I decided to stop teaching and to go full-time in MMA. I went to Team Quest and tried to build a network. You know Ed Herman from season three? Well, a couple other guys and him recommended me. [The producers] saw my video, and I had a really good highlight video with lots of slams and stuff. We laughed a lot during my interviews, too, which helped. The friends can get you in the door, but it’s up to you once you get there…. At the time, my back was against the wall because I really didn’t have anything really going for me, so I kind of had to make the show. I couldn’t even afford my rent in February where I was staying. I was stuck, so I said I was going to make the show no matter what.

MMAJUNKIE.COM: Did you hear Rampage call you “mini-me” on a few occasions? Do you take that as a compliment, or does it concern you that his expectations are so big?

GERALD HARRIS: It was never pressure. People have been calling me that since I started fighting. I saw we had some similarities, but he’s the one with all the money. <laughs> I watched some old videos of him — picking up people for no reason and throwing them back down. Look at him now. He’s really worked on his stand-up, so he doesn’t have to worry about slamming people all the time. It’s just another tool for him. … But I knew I could learn from him, seeing how he’s the world champ.

MMAJUNKIE.COM: You were one of the last fights. Did you prefer the extra training, or were just anxious to get in there and fight again?

GERALD HARRIS: I was trying to go first. Nobody picked me, though. I think some of the guys picked fights because they saw mismatches or knew they could win, but as you saw, some of them were surprised what was happening. Even Matthew Riddle, he was fighting his butt off and really took it to Tim (Credeur). I wanted to fight all the way down. The whole time I was ready to go.

MMAJUNKIE.COM: What did you initially think about the match-up with Amir?

GERALD HARRIS: I liked it. I wanted to fight one of their tough guys, and he was their second pick. He was a kickboxer, but he took out a tough guy. Steve Byrnes was a tough guy with UFC experience, so [Amir] got my respect, and everyone in the house knew he was a tough guy. He had good kicks, a good ground game, and he had submitted a guy in that first fight. I knew it would be a tough fight. … I think it was a classic fight and contrast of styles.

MMAJUNKIE.COM: What was your gameplan for the fight? Did you plan to focus the fight around your wrestling abilities? (from reader “DougDrex”)?

GERALD HARRIS: Yeah, mainly wrestling, but I had worked on my hands a bit… but during the fight, I just wrestled too much. I just going at and going at it. It wasn’t my game plan. I wanted to use strikes to set up the takedowns and throw my hands more.

MMAJUNKIE.COM: Do you feel like you lost a lost of energy in the second round compared to the first? Was it an adrenaline dump, over-training or just a matter of not having your cardio built up? (from reader “Jon”)

GERALD HARRIS: Nah, I actually felt better in the second round. If you look, I had my head and hands moving. I wasn’t tired at all. It just became a different fight. He wasn’t scared of the takedowns anymore. The whole momentum of the fight changed. … He was still there and going after everything and giving me fits. I wasn’t tired at all, though. I was just getting warmed up and ready to go.

MMAJUNKIE.COM: Amir had thrown quite a few knees during the fight. Did you notice them — and was it something you were trying to keep an eye on?

GERALD HARRIS: He had caught my with a real nice flying knee that was just real quick. I was like, “wow, man.” After the fight, they didn’t know I had blocked it since it just came so quick. One thing about him, though, was he was predictable — just by the way he was planting his feet and little things he was doing that I picked up on. Those knees came quick, though. He’s an experienced guy and well-trained. He had like four or five amateur fights, so I didn’t take it into mind that he didn’t have any pro fights. He had a good reputation in the house. But I knew that if I was beating their No. 1 or No. 2 guy that it’d leave a mark on their team. That was the statement I was trying to make with the fight.

MMAJUNKIE.COM: Obviously, you felt the fight shouldn’t have been stopped when he did finally connect with that final knee. Looking back at the episode, do you still feel the same way — or do you think the stoppage was justified?

GERALD HARRIS: I do think it was stopped early. It definitely hurt and it knocked me down, but I recovered quickly and shot really quickly for the single leg. I’ve seen fighters shoot and hold on, but the thing was that I wasn’t getting hit in the head. It was rib-shoulder, rib-shoulder shots. I’m looking at the ref, and he was saying I had to improve the position, but I didn’t want to let go of the leg. I wasn’t really getting hit that hard from that position, but he stopped it anyway. … After the fight, i didn’t disrespect anybody. I was really upset, but I didn’t disrespect anybody. I went and told Amir that he had a good fight and told Forrest he was a good coach. … A lot people would lose and not actually care. Not me. I had a lot to lose. But that was the good thing about the show — everyone was there to tell you (that) you did a good job, and C.B. (Dollaway) pulled me aside. I really appreciated his support. It was great having that type of support from everyone, telling you that you did a good job.

MMAJUNKIE.COM: What did you think of your training with Team Rampage overall?

GERALD HARRIS: I built a lot of confidence with my hands. I didn’t have that before, but just being around Rampage was crazy. It was like an out-of-body experience, man. He’s a world champ. But the guy I really got along with was (assistant coach) Juanito (Ibarra). We instantly got close. That’s one thing I really benefited from was him. Physically and mentally he helped me out. And even religiously he was a big help. He said all the right things.

MMAJUNKIE.COM: What are you up to these days? What are you doing and where are you training?

GERALD HARRIS: I’m still with Team Quest, but I’m not in Portland. I’m training all around. I’m in Ohio and headed to different camps. I’ll be in Colorado training in the mountains. … I can’t say if I’ll be at the finale because someone could get hurt, and there could be second chances. If not, regardless, I’m ready to fight. It’s kind of hard to imagine the situation I’m in. I’m used to fighting in bars and places where people are smoking and stuff. I fought in a casino, and all the people were probably 80 and over. I mean, they were giving away free tickets at the buffet… Now, here I am in the UFC. It’s a crazy experience. … Anyway, people can find me on MySpace (www.myspace.com/g1906). I keep everyone updated there.

MMAjunkie.com’s “Ten TUF Questions” feature runs each Thursday and
spotlights the latest eliminated cast member from “The Ultimate
Fighter: Team Rampage vs. Team Forrest.” For full coverage of the show,
including episode recaps and blogs from cast members C.B. Dollaway and
Luke Zachrich, check out our section for “The Ultimate Fighter: Team Rampage vs. Team Forrest.”